House moving apparatus



June 14, 1949. B. ADKINS 2,472,932

KQUSE MOVING APPARATUS Filed 001;. 10, 1947 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 FIG. 1'.

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June 14, 1949. B. ADKINS HOUSE MOVING APPARATUS 2 Sheets -Sheet 2 Filed Oct 10,1947

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Patented June 14, 1949 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE HOUSE MOVING APPARATUS Bruce Adkins, Pharr, Tex.

Application October 10, 1947, Serial No. 779,082

3 Claims. (01. 214-4) porting house structures, and more particularly to house moving apparatus of the truck trailer type.

A main object of the invention is to provide a novel and improved apparatus for lifting and moving house structures and the like, said apparatus being very simple in construction, easy to operate, and dependable in performance.

A further object of the invention is to provide an improved house moving apparatus which is relatively inexpensive to fabricate, sturdy in construction, and which greatly speeds up house moving operations.

Further objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following description and claims, and from the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Figure 1 is an elevational view showing a house in the process of being transported by an apparatus constructed in accordance with the present invention.

Figure 2 is an enlarged fragmentary plan view of the lifting portion of the house transporting apparatus of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a vertical transverse cross-sectional view taken on line 3-3 of Figure 2.

Figure 4 is a side elevational view of the structure illustrated in Figure 2.

Referring to the drawings, II, II designate a pair of heavy carrier beams which are placed in parallel relationship beneath the structure, such as the house [2, which is to be moved. J ournalled on each end of the beams H, II is a pulley l3, said pulleys being rotatable around the longitudinal axes of the respective beams.

Designated at [4 is the rear portion of a conventional truck frame. Mounted transversely on and secured to truck frame I4 is a heavy cross beam l5. Journalled on the ends of cross beam ii are respective pulleys l6, [6 which are rotatable in the transverse vertical plane of cross beam l5. Secured to the truck frame l4 and extending longitudinally thereof is a superstructure comprising parallel tubular beams l1, l1 rigidly braced by longitudinally spaced cross members l8 connecting said beams l1, l1. Secured in one of said cross members l8 and the under-lying truck frame H at the cross beam I is a vertical shaft l9. Journalled on shaft l9 between the superstructure and the cross beam I5 is a drum formed with annular flanges M, 22 and 23 defining upper and lower reel sections 24 and 25. The bottom of the drum 20 carries a ratchet flange 26 and engaging the toothed periphery of said ratchet flange 2 6 is a pawl member 21 pivotally connected to cross beam 15 and biased into engagement with the periphery of the ratchet flange 23 by a spring 28 connected between said pawl member anda projection 29 carried by the cross beam [5. Secured to the lower reel section 25 and wound thereon is a winch cable 33 which is secured to a conventional winch device 3| carried on truck frame l4. Secured to the upper reel section 24 and wound thereon are a pair of cables 32, 32 which pass over the respectiveend pulleys I6, [6 of cross beam l5 and are respectively secured to said cross beam at 33, 33. The cables 32, 32 are crossed and looped beneath the pulleys l6, l6, as shown at 34, 34 and are adapted to be engaged with the end pulleys [3 of the carrier beams H, II, as shown in Figure 3. When the winch device 3| is energized, the cables 32, 32 are wound up On reel section 24 and exert a lifting force on the ends of carrier beams ll, H at the pulleys l3, [3. The pawl member 21 cooperates with the ratchet flange 26 to automatically lock the drum 2!) in clockwise rotated position, as viewed in Figure 2, until said pawl member is manually released.

In operation of the apparatus, the carrier beams H, H are first positioned beneath the structure l2 to .be moved, in parallel relation thereunder and spaced apart by a distance substantially equal to the distance between pulleys l6, I6 of cross beam f5. The looped cable portions 34, 34 are then engaged under the pulleys I3, l3 of the beams l I, I I adjacent one end of the structure I2 and said beams H, H are lifted at said one end by the operation of winch device 3| until a dolly, such as shown at 35 may be positioned under the beams H, II at the lifted ends thereof. The beams are lowered onto dolly 35 by releasing pawl member 21 and allowing the cables 32, 32 to unwind.

The above described procedure is repeated at the other ends of the carrier beams H, l I, whereby the beams and the structure l2 will be raised to the elevated positions thereof shown in Figure l. The structure l2 may then be transported by the truck directly to its new site and lowered onto a suitable supporting foundation by reversing the above described procedure.

While a specific embodiment of a house moving apparatus has been disclosed in the foregoing description, it will be understood that various modifications within the spirit of the invention may occur to those skilled in the art. Therefore it is intended that no limitations be placed on the invention except as defined by the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In an apparatus for transporting building structures, a pair of elongated carrier beams adapted to be positioned under a structure to be moved, each beam having a pulley journalled at each end thereof, the pulleys being rotatable in planes transverse to the beams, a motor truck, winch means carried on the rear portion of said truck, a transverse beam carried on said truck rear portion, pulleys journalled on the ends of said transverse beam, and a pair of cables extending from said winch means, each cable being looped over a pulley on said transverse beam and engaging under an end pulley of a carrier beam adjacent one end of the structure to be moved, the cable ends being secured to the truck rear portion, whereby the carrier beam ends will be elevated when the cables are wound up on said winch means.

2. In an apparatusfor transporting building structures, a pair of elongated carrier beams adapted to be positioned-under a structure to be moved, each beam having a pulley journalled at each end thereof, the pulleys being rotatable in planes transverse to the beams, a motor truck, a transverse beam carried on the rear portion of said truck, pulleys journalled on the ends of said transverse beam and being rotatable in the vertical plane of said transverse beam, a vertical reel rotatably secured on said transverse beam,

a pair of cables secured to said reel, each cable being looped over a pulley on said transverse beam and engaging under an end pulley of a carrier beam adjacent one end of the structure to be moved, the cable ends being secured to said transverse beam, and means on said truck for rotating said reel whereby the carrier beam ends will be elevated.

3. In an apparatus for transporting building structures, a pair of elongated carrier beams adapted to be positioned under a structure to be moved, each beam having a pulley journalled at each end thereof, the pulleys being rotatable in planes transverse to the beams, a motor truck, a transverse beam carried on the rear portion of said truck, pulleys journalled on'the ends of said transverse beam and being rotatable in the vertical plane of said transverse beam, a vertical reel rotatively secured on said transverse beam, a pair of cables secured to said reel each cable being looped over a pulley on said transverse beam and engaging under an end pulley of a carrier beam adjacent one end of the structure to be moved, the cable ends being secured to said transverse beam, winch means on said truck for rotating said reel, a toothed ratchet flange carried by said reel, a pawl pivoted to said transverse beam and engageable with said ratchet flange, and spring means biasing said pawl into interlocking engagement with said ratchet flange.

BRUCE ADKINS.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Troche et al June 6, 1944 

